In this type of aircraft, it is essential for the nose-wheel landing gear, when in the "retracted" position, to occupy as little space as possible, and in particular as little length as possible. However, for reasons of aircraft structure streamlining, it is also necessary for the wheel to lie in a plane substantially perpendicular to a vertical plane passing though the aircraft axis (when in horizontal flight). Numerous landing gears exist which reduce the space occupied by compacting the landing gear components, eg. by compressing the shock-absorber. There also exist landing gears which, as they pass from the "extended" position for the aircraft to run on a runway for take off or landing, to a "retracted" position, swivel the wheel through ninety degrees. Thus, when the landing gear pivots about about an axis which is perpendicular to the above-defined vertical plane, the wheel which was initially parallel to said plane ends up in a perpendicular plane when the landing gear is fully retracted into the aircraft structure.
However, in all known sytems, as the landing gear is compacted to reduce the space it occupies lengthwise, the wheel is generally shifted sideways relative to the landing gear axis, thus calling for a housing of greater width.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a new nose-wheel type landing gear for aircraft enabling minimal bulk to be achieved by means of a structure which is simple to construct and which additionally avoids the drawbacks of previously known landing gear systems.